Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $55.13 and last traded at $55.2320, with a volume of 224,911 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAST. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Friday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson set a $51.00 target price on shares of Fastenal and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.46.

Fastenal Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $63.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.93.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 35.13% and a net margin of 15.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Fastenal Company will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is currently 83.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fastenal

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in Fastenal by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 2.4% in the second quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fastenal by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 3.4% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 2.9% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 8,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal Company is a distributor of industrial and construction supplies, serving businesses that need products to maintain facilities, support production and complete building projects. Its offerings include fasteners such as screws, nuts and bolts, as well as safety supplies, tools and other maintenance, repair and operations products. In addition to product distribution, Fastenal provides services designed to help customers manage supplies and purchasing. These include inventory management, on-site support and industrial vending solutions that make frequently used items available at customer facilities.